The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-08
THE MACKAY CABLE.
WILL 1T PASS INTO THE HANDS
OF JAY GOULDp


ally About the Sale, but that Mackay
Asks Too Much-The Californian is
Tired of Gable Wars, and Some Say
He Needs Money.
From the Neto York World.
There are now several good reasons FOL
believing that Jay Gould will acquire
within very short time, not only the Bal
timore and Ohio Telegraph Company, but
Mr.. Mackay's Commercial Gable Company
as well, and the thousands Of miles of land
lines that Mr.. Mackay practically owns.
Negotiations looking to some kind of q
union between the Gould and Mackay in
| terests have been in progress for some time.
These negotiations have been conducted by
Messrs. Gould and Mackay personally,
whenever Mr.. Macltay has been in New
York, and in his absence by s. L. NJ. Bar
low, of counsel for Mackay, and DR.. Green.
| At these conferences the books. paltic-
ularlY of the Gable Company, were freely
shown Negotiations have not been inter
rupted for day since Mr. M0ckay's return
from Europe last month. There is, there
| fore, every prospect that NJ. Mackay
broad scheme of big cable and telegraph
competition in the interest of the general
public will go the way of many smaller and
earlier enterprises, the Western Union and
the Cable pool will swallow the Commercial
Cable Company and its connecting land
lines, and telegraph stock will begin to
climb, according to some enthusiastic bulls,
toward the hundred mark.
One thing which stands in the way of
Mackay's turning over all his cable and tele-
graph properties to his rival is question of
pride. Mr.. Mackay does not want to sell
out and vanish utterly from the public
gaze, and then be ridiculel by those who
had hailed him as the sworn eternal foe of
telegraph monopoly. He wants to figure in
the combined company somehow or other
He desires, not unnaturally, to have prom
! inent place in the reorganized board. At
all events, Mr.. MacEay has certainly be-
come heartily tired of the cable war and Of
having vast sums of money locked up in
properties that are unproductive and con-
slant drain OH his resources Then, strong
and vigorous as he is, Mr.. Mackay is begin
ming to realize that the work he has done of
late years, divided as it is between San
Francisco, New York and London, is pecu-
liarly hard and wearing and very likely to
tell on man who is now well on to 60 years
of age.
Another reason why Mr.. Mackay has not
moved promptly in these dealings is his fear
that his action would be ascribed to finan-
cial embarrassment growing out of the losses
sustained by the Nevada Bank in the wheat
deal in San Francisco d. o. Mills is said
to have estimated that the Nevada Bank
lost in that deal about S6,000,000, divided
evenly between Mackay and Flood.
When DR. Norvin Green, President of the
Western Union Telegraph Company, was
asked about the history and nature of the
negotiations between Messrs Gould and
Maclay, he said: 1.-THE negotiations between
Mr.. Could and Mackay about the CONNER
cial Cable Company began early in the sum
mer, before Mr. Mackay went to Europe.
Mr. Mackay communicated with Mr.. Gould,
and it was entirely at Mr. Mackays invita-
tiol that they met. Mr.. Gould was not at
all we'll, and he did not care to go into any
extended business conferences. He wanted
me to 60 into the matter, but | persuaded
him to attend to it himself, and he did Mr.
Gould and Mr.. Mackay had three meetings
think, but nothing was done, because when
certain propositions were formulated Mr.
Mackay said that he wanted to consult Mr.
Bennett, and the opportunity to dose would
of course be afforded him when he reached
Europe"
This was the first time Mr.. Gould and
Mr. Mackay met, was it notf'
YES, and they liked each other very
much. They are something of the same
kind of men, frank and outspoken in CON
versation and saying what they mean every
| time. When Mr. Mackay arrived here one
Sunday last month Mr.. Barlow comlnuni-
Gated with Mr.. Gould at once, asking on Mr.
Mackays behalf meeting on Tuesday
morning at his (Mr. Barlow's) house, No /
Madison avenue. Mr.. Gould responded and
they met, but during the day Mr.. Mackay
was suddenly called to California by the i'll
ness of his partner, Mr.. Flood, and the
threatening developments in the wheat deal.
Since that time Mr.. Barlow and | have
been in correspondence, but nothing of q
definite character has been reached"
What stands in the way of settlement
of this matter nowW
"They want too much-altogether toe
much. ~
You mean that the terms are too highp
They want too much. That's all can
say"
I'm the proposed bargain Mr.. Mackay
wishes to stipulate, does he not, that you
shall make the rate 40c?"
Yes. but l do not know that we would
have any objection to that We are in
clined to believe that Acc. rate would now
be the most profitable We have tried all
kinds of rates and up to this time the Soc.
| rate has brought us the handsomest returns.
More people, however, under the stimulus OF
low rates, have got into the habit of using
| the cable. At the 12c. rate the business has
increased I'D per cent, and SO long as the
rates are reasonable, large portion of the
new business would be held A 40c. rate
now would be, perhaps, just about right for
us and satisfactory to the public"
Some interesting calculations as to Mr..
Mackay's wealth. and how he has dis
| tributed it, have been made. Senator Fair
| and ID. .. Mills concur i'll placing his pos
sessions at SIS, 900, 900 to S2O,0000o0, when
Mackay came East and launched into his
cable and telegraph enterprises. The cables
cost 81, 900, 600 of which Mr.. Bennett put in
Sl,000000. Then Mrs Mackay bought
largely into the Postal Company and other
land lines. He has advanced money to the
United Lines. He recently put $500, 900 OF
more into the lines along the Pacific coast.
In short, it is estimated that he has SIC, 900,
600 in cables and telegraphs. He gave Mrs.
Mackay S5,000,000 in government bonds
and if he has really lost 81, 900 900, SIS, 000,-
900 of his fortune is accounted for. 1t will
thus be seen that Mr.. Mackay is in no posi-
ton to continue an expensive cable wal
with great and powerful combination like
the Western Union Telegraph Company